Universal Credit Scam

We have recently become aware of a scam in offering people loans. These will often be described as government loans or Grants.

This is not a legitimate offer. It’s actually a scam where the person will take your personal details and make a claim for Universal Credit for you.

Once they make the claim, they then take out an advance payment for you from any Universal Credit you are due and then they charge you for this.

What you need to know;

•If you make a claim for Universal Credit, you cant go back to your previous benefits e.g. Tax Credits, JSA etc.

•Even if you are victim of this scam, it may be really difficult to get DWP to reinstate your old benefits. You may have to stay on Universal Credit and this could reduce the amount of benefit you receive.

•As soon as you make a claim for Universal Credit any other benefit you were due will stop immediately – this means you will lose payment of any benefit you were expecting to receive e.g. your next tax credit payment.

• If you have a genuine claim for Universal Credit and want to take an advance payment you can do this when you make your claim and you wont be charged for it – this scam actually costs you money.

We are encouraging our tenants to be very careful when applying for a loan. Please check that it is a reputable company or use a local credit union instead.

Have you been a victim of this scam?

If you have been a victim of this scam, please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. You can also contact our Welfare Rights Officer, Alan Graham, on 0141 583 4123 and he will try to help you.

How we can help

If you want to check if you have any entitlement to Universal Credit, contact our Welfare Benefits Officer Alan Graham first. Alan will check your circumstances and advise you on the benefit options for you.